i'll look back on this and laaaaugh...

Anne
injuries: 3
illnesses: 1
migraines: 0
breakdowns: 1/2

Brian
injuries: 0
illnesses: 1
migraines: 1
breakdowns 0

Despite the creeping (hacking, coughing nasty) crud contracted courtesy of US Airways and a passenger near you, we are both packing like fools. All in all, it's going pretty well, and spirits were lifted by a wonderful dinner at the Fish Market with some wonderful friends last night.

Thank You!

Must eat. Must pack. Must get the heck out of this disaster and get on the road. But first!

A quick photo montage of the chaos:

Seriously. We can't rent a cargo van to drive cross-country? SERIOUSLY!?

Makeshift desk as we have no furniture left

Packing up the fish sauce... and Curious George... and the Old Bay. We eat adventurously.

Buried in boxes.

Lots of love to all our friends and family! We'll be in CA soon and expect to see your smiling faces come visit us!

let go.

you know that spot at the top of the very first drop on a roller coaster?

the one where your heart is pounding and you're white knuckling the safety harness because you KNOW something crazy awesome is coming?

that amazing rush of anticipation that comes with the slowing "chik...chik....chik...chik........chick..............chick" of the track that's pulling you toward the top?

that's it. with boxes strewn, chaos slowing taking over, wine glass half gone and apron tied on from one great 'last supper' from this barbaric galley kitchen. that's it. that's the feeling.

let go of the harness. ignore the warning signs and let your hands and arms outside the r. we're jumping off.

grab your nikes...

Got up this morning feeling chipper (despite all odds... $3.33 for a bottle of wine!? Again. I LOVE California!) and took myself out for a run. Did about 3.5 miles down The Alameda in Santa Clara in the sunshine and 70 degrees, feeling truly blessed and wondering if they even allow treadmills in this state.

Feeling fabulous, I showered, chowed my Greek Yogurt and an apple, and dried my hair/put on some make up. Ta da!!

At which point, B awoke from his slumber and announced, "Let's go for a hike!"

My thoughts:

"Seriously?! Oh my poor legs ... "

"Damn it. I just dried my hair."

"Damn it. Damn it. My fave sports bra is soaked in sweat."

"Oh look! My fave running top is clean."

"And I DO have a ponytail holder that isn't totally shot!"

*insert 2.6 minutes on Google*

"What the hell, B!? Aren't you ready to go yet!? I found this awesome trail!"

So we hiked.

Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve : sunny, breezy and hella full of hills.

I have no idea how far we actually hiked as we did pieces of 2 or 3 trails, but at one point, we could see all the way to San Fransisco from the top of our mountain.

Dirty. Sweaty. Sun-Drenched. Amazement.

2 hours of hard labor behind us (plus my morning run, my pride insists I add) we hit up Trader Joes for some Salads for lunch and frozen Channa Masala for dinner.

God bless Joe and his healthy, cheap prepared foods cornucopia of goodness. And Days Inn for a fridge so cold it doubles as a freezer.

A nap. A great convo with mama. A book. *le sigh*

Despite the coldest summer they have had in a decade or so... Monterey treated us well! We spent yesterday morning walking/hiking along the peninsula coast, stopping to watch the waves and take pictures. (Yes, there is a jacket tied around my waist. No, I don't want to talk about it.)



A beautiful break in the clouds yielded this odd patch of blue sky and blue water. Not sure if it was a taunt or just a sign that we should keep walking... but it was pretty amazing.



After a fabulous lunch = sweet ass Mediterranean vegetarian platter at a funky "International Restaurant" (there were flags on the menu in case you didn't couldn't identify Russia, Mexico or America in typeface), we rolled our falafel loving selves to a little coffee shop for a little WiFi/non-motel couch R&R.

Sufficiently caffeinated, bookworm-ed and tech-ed... we drove down to Carmel-By-The-Sea. We were a little late to do a tour of the mission, but got some beautiful photos from the outside.








Then we hit up downtown Carmel. SO. PRETTY. (As were the vintage Ferrari, Bentley and Maserati cars driving around. After the tour-de-auto-chic... we decided that the Boxter is the VW Bug of the Porsche world.)

Had it not been for B, I would have given myself a real quick caffeine-induced heart attack at the plethora of adorable coffee shops (seriously. I wanted a cappucino at every one, just so I could sit in their little gardens!) ... (and seriously!? with the adorable otter!?)


It was a truly beautiful little town and I can't wait to come back and visit again.



Hit up Santa Cruz this morning to check it out as it will be the nearest beach, but they proved severely lacking in the sunshine, WiFi and public bathrooms departments, so B declared it a miss for the day. We're back in Santa Clara, chilling and plotting our next move. Back to D.C. on Friday (at 6 am. dag.) and we'll pack up from there!

A quick side note: Thank you all for your beautiful and kind words both in the comments section and on Facebook. We miss you already and can't wait for you to come visit us in what we are so excited to call our new home!

I'm gonna stay away from LA...

We came to a rather unexpected consensus yesterday that Brian and I almost prefer Northern California Beaches to Southern California beaches... they don't require sunburns, crowds or that awkward, self-deprecating bikini-clad comparison thing that all girls do at beaches (don't deny it...) and are, instead, just a place of raw beauty. The kind of place you can curl up with a book and a cup of tea and just feel at ease, even when it's foggy and cool.

Case in point: Monterey, California


Probably one of the most beautiful places I've ever been... and the sun was only out for 2 hours of our trip.

(Those are kelp forests behind us)

While I've been struggling a bit with the string of hotel rooms and lack of routine (and resulting lack of room in my fave CK jeans...) this is shaping up to be a truly amazing time in our lives together.

get it? lover points?

It is such a fun feeling to be a 'newlywed' with a new home to pack up and move into, and to have the freedom to stop and buy $1/lb cherries at a road side stand just because we feel like it. (Then eat the whole pound because "we're on vacation!" See also: lack of room in CK jeans.) Or follow Angela (our GPS) through unsafely fast left hand turns into small-town Thai restaurants because B is suddenly starving.

I am so excited to move our new life together here. I am constantly struck by the thought that this is our home now. And I feel so blessed by it.

We're off to do some hiking and beach-dwelling! It's still cloudy and cool today... good thing we brought cozy hoodies and a couple of great books.

Gonna pack a box of books ...

and my beloved guitar into the back of my truck....and try my luck in California!


Attitude: adjusted courtesy of long-distance love from an amazing friend.

After a day of flailing around, alternating between crying and nagging (cute, right?) - it was time to get back into a routine.

Set my alarm, went for a run, hit up Mecca (Whole Foods) for flowers and real food, and had a proper breakfast consisting of produce. Am a new person! With Gerber Daisies (yes, in my water bottle)!



Two hours later: we found it. 1 bedroom with a loft and a patio. End unit with TONS of windows. 5 minute drive from Downtown Mountain View. Checked out a few more places to be sure that the uber friendly leasing agent hadn't just bewitched us... and we're signing a lease tomorrow!

We celebrated by going for a hike in what might be the most beautiful place we've ever seen.

Brian struck a pose

And we took photos and then some...



Looking for some advice: Where should we vacation now that we've found a home!? Monterey? Big Sur? Santa Cruz? Comment away and help us out!

More adventures to come!

Team Amy Needs Your Help!

Want more adventure?

More snakes, rashes and yoga poses than you can shake a stick bug at?

Team Amy Needs You!! Visit http://amyvswild.blogspot.com and follow Amy as she kicks Honduras' ass... and by proxy the other volunteers at Guarama who are in a heated battle for Google followers.

A great add to any GoogleReader!!! (Plus, she likes Pomegranate Michelob Ultra, and that makes her followable in MY book.)